Friday, February 10, 2017



Ay, and greater wonders than that.
Orlando
As You Like It                                     Act V, Scene ii    Line 27

And greater wonders than that. Greater than what? Do we need to know? This is from Act V, Scene ii of As You Like It and it’s an exchange between Orlando and Rosalind. I know this play, but not really well, and I don’t remember exactly what’s going on in this scene. I can tell you that the preceding line is Rosalind saying

Did your brother tell you how I counterfeited to swoon when he showed me your handkerchief? 

So apparently Orlando is referring to her pretending to swoon when he talks about greater wonders.  But beyond that I’m really not sure what he’s referring to. And do I care? No, not really. And if you asked me why, what would I say. I’d probably say that I’m not that interested in this line today. It’s true, I care about other things besides Shakespeare. To which you might ask, ‘You, Pete, what could you possibly spend your time on besides Shakespeare? Maybe watching television?’ And of course I’d reply, ‘Ay, and greater wonders than that.’
                                                                   Ay, and greater wonders than that.

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